About Us

The multiple lines of thunderstorms that crossed the High Country yesterday afternoon caused quite a few emergency calls for fires, lightning strikes, and a number of traffic accidents in the heavy rain. Flash flooding was reported and a number of power outages. Avery County was particularly hard hit, with several calls at once beginning around 4pm.
A hiker called 911 to report being struck ‘directly’ by lightning while hiking the profile trail. Avery Rescue, backed up by Watauga Rescue units, hiked the 3 miles in through the rain to reach the hiker and get him to a waiting ambulance. At about the same time, a tractor-trailer jack-knifed in the Tynecastle area on NC 105, tying up traffic for a time. At about 5pm, on the Linville side of Tynecastle, another accident on 105 caused some injuries when a vehicle rolled over in the storm. Meanwhile, both Wilkes and Watauga units responded to a wreck on 421 at the county line. There were several injuries in the 4:15pm accident, causing Champion & Deep Gap to respond. Lightning strikes caused a number of fire calls, including one at Bistro Rocca where a power pole and tree were on fire, the Blowing Rock Fire Department responding to that while several other similar calls were reported around the area, along with downed trees in roadways.